Office Ant-ics!
Office Ant-ics! is a two-part story that was published in Issue 41 of the Moshi Monsters Magazine. Story Part 1 It was lunchtime at The Daily Growl and ace reporter Ruby Scribblez was in the staff canteen, waiting for her teeny-tiny friend Agony Ant to share a sandwich and a chit-chat. "Where has she got to?" wondered Ruby. "She's not usually late. I bought sludge fudge and everything!" Ruby gazed for only at the gooey fudge she'd brought to share with Agony Ant. Lunchtime was almost half over and there was no sign of the Growl's resident problem page writer. "What if something's happened to her?" Ruby wondered aloud. "What if it's C.L.O.N.C.?" It wouldn't be the first time they'd grabbed someone. Great globs of Glumpcake! What if they've kidnapped Agony Ant?" "What's up, Ruby?" asked the Growl's all-seeing Editor, Roary Scrawl. You look like you've got something heavy on your mind." "Heavier than a Baby Blockhead's solid stone nappy!" groaned Ruby. "It's Agony Ant. She was supposed to meet me here, but she's disappeared! What if C.L.O.N.C's up to something? I'm just too worried for words!" "Well I can't have my reporters lost for words," said Roary "Where would the Daily Growl be then, eh? It seem to me that if anyone here can track down Agony Ant, it's my number one investigative reporter." "Eh?" said Ruby, distracted. "Who's that?" "It's you, you goobrain," nudging Ruby playfully."Now get out there and start looking!" "Yes, sir!" said Ruby, shaking herself out of her gloom. Roary was right! Chasing down stories and solving mysteries was what she did best! She was going to find Agony Ant, and if C.L.O.N.C. or the dastardly Dr Strangeglove had anything to do with her disappearance, she'd see that they got their just desserts! She stood up, wrapped her sludge fudge in a brown paper Gross-ery Store bag, and set off in the direction of Agony Ant's desk to look for clues. There was no sign of Agony Ant at her desk. Ruby looked carefully, staring through a large magnifying glass to make sure she didn't miss her pocket-sized pal in a pile of pencil shavings or under a notepad. She was about to move on when a familiar sight caught her eye and sent a shiver down her spine! There, just visible over the top of a bookcase, was the unmistakable shape of a top hat. "There's only one Monstro City resident with a soft spot for a topper...," said Ruby. "Strangeglove!" She tiptoed across the room and sneaked up behind the top-hatted figure, then she leapt up and grabbed the hat with both hands... Part 2 "Eeek!" screamed the hat's owner,spinning around on a pair of sparkly blue pimps. "My hat!" "Oo-er!" said Ruby, looking up to see the glamorous owner of Horrods glaring down at her. "Sorry, Mizz Snoots," she said, sheepishly handing back the purple hat. "I thought you were Dr Strangeglove." "Well, really!" said Mizz Snoots. "That's not Strangeglove's nasty old thing, it's my new Bleurghberry hat, and you've left sticky fingerprints all over it!" "I'll buy you a new one," called Ruby as she scampered away, blushing with embarrassment. "You couldn't afford it," Miss Snootz called back snootily. Ruby searched the newspaper's offices from top to bottom but there was no sign of Agony Ant. On one floor, she thought she saw a gang of Glumps huddling in a corner by the Sports desk, but it was just a pile of tennis balls. On another, she thought she heard Agony ant calling for help, but it turned out to be a squeaky drawer. Finally, she went back to the staff canteen and flopped down onto a bench. "It's no good, I'll never find Agony Ant! She's just too small," she sighed and looked down at the Gross-ery Store bag containing the sludge fudge. "I suppose I might as well eat these. I can keep looking for her afterwards." She picked up one of the plump, sugary cubes and licked her lips. A tiny squeak made her stop just before she sunk her teeth into the tasty treat. "What's that?" Ruby wondered. "Another squeaky drawer? Oh well. None of my business." She opened her mouth to take a bite. There was the noise again! It wasn't a squeak, it was a voice! A tiny voice so faint it was almost impossible to hear. But this time Ruby heard it and she recognised it, too! It was her friend gony Ant! She held her breath and listened cosely. "Down here!" said the voice. "On the fudge!" Ruby peered closely at the sticky cube in her hand. There, stuck in a river of gooey icing, with her six legs waving helplessly in the air, was Agony Ant! "That was too close for comfort," said Ruby to her friend after she'd helped Agony Ant clean off the last of the sticky icing. "No harm done," said Agony Ant."With a bit more time, I might have been able to eat my way out." "But I almost ate you!" said Ruby. "Well I'm glad you didn't!" said The tiny voice at her side. "I'm an Agony Ant... not a restaur-ant!" Category:Stories